TURKISH PRESS REVIEW

THURSDAY JULY 25, 1996

Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning

Belarussian President Alexander Lukasenko arrived in Turkey
yesterday as the official guest of President Suleyman Demirel.
Demirel welcomed Lukasenko with an official ceremony held at
Cankaya Palace. Demirel said that Turkey supported Belarussian
reforms in the fields of economics and politics. "We believe that
this transformation, in spite of the difficulties involved, will
be beneficial for the Belarussian people, the whole region,
Turkey and the international community" Demirel said. Demirel
noted that the Turkish regional aim of improving relations with
the newly-emerging states after the collapse of the Soviet Union
would contribute to peace and stability in the region. He also
said that bilateral economic relations between Turkey and Belarus
were rapidly growing, a hopeful sign.

Lukasenko's visit is the first at the presidential level, marking
what Demirel called the start of "a new era". Lukasenko called
Turkey a partner with promise for the future with which Belarus
was keen to cooperate. Last year trade volume between the two
countries was $53 million, leaving room for improvement,
Lukasenko said. He also spoke of the scope for technological help
from Turkey, praising the good quality of Turkish exports.
Belarus exports, he said, were limited to confectionary and raw
fabric.

Following the meetings held between the delegations of the two
countries, "Good friendship and neighbourliness", "Cooperation in
tourism", "Prevention of double taxation", "$20 million in credit
from Eximbank" and "Prevention of organized crimes and smuggling"
agreements were signed. Following the meetings, Lukasenko
received Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan. Later, Lukasenko
attended a banquet given in his honour by President Demirel.
/Sabah-Cumhuriyet/

Turkish security forces killed 17 militants of the PKK terrorist
organization. Four members of the Turkish security forces died in
separate clashes in the southeast of the country, the emergency
rule governor's office said on Wednesday. The governor's office
said in a statement that three security officials, including one
village guard, were killed in clashes on Monday. Fifteeen PKK
terrorists, among them four women, were killed during fighting in
Hakkari province and another two died in clashes in Mus province,
the statement said. Meanwhile, nearly 15 terrorists who raided
the Adamli Village of Sivas the previous night killed two
villagers. /Cumhuriyet-Sabah/

President Suleyman Demirel sent a letter to US President Bill
Clinton on 16 July and noted that he supported Washington's
efforts regarding the Cyprus issue. Demirel also said that Turkey
would cooperate with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
(TRNC) to resolve the Cyprus issue and expressed Ankara's
concerns over European Union (EU) involvement. It is reported
that the Cyprus issue was also on the agenda at a luncheon given
in honour of undersecretaries of NATO-member countries by
officials of the US Embassy in Ankara the previous day. US
Embassy officials briefed the undersecretaries about the contacts
of US Ambassador to the UN Ambassador Madeleine Albright who
visited Ankara last week. /Cumhuriyet/

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Tansu Ciller said on Wednesday that
the government would impose a tax on declared interest earnings.
"declared interest earnings will be taxed" she said at a party
meeting, without making any further clarification. "This should
not be seen as an intervention in the market economy" she said.
Under current tax law, a tax exemption on annual interest
earnings in Turkey will expire at the end of 1996. After then,
interest earnings above TL 10 billion will be taxed. /All papers/

The Turkish shipping industry may double its contribution to the
economy to $10 billion a year from $5 billion in 1995 if
Turkish-flagged ships can secure a bigger share in the country's
foreign trade, a report said. The report, prepared by the Turkish
Chamber of Shipping, said Turkish tankers should carry more of
its oil imports and Turkey must have an international shipping
registration to help the industry's development. The fleet
capacity would also double to 20 million deadweight tons (dwt) by
2000 from the present 11 million if the fleet was modernized and
more container-type ships were purchased, it said.

The deadweight tonnage of the Turkish fleet was up by 12 % in
1996 from a year ago. The Turkish fleet currently has 1,153
ships, which are on average 17 years old. /All papers/

Satellite photos taken by the Israeli intelligence service Mossad
have proved that new PKK camps had been established in Greece and
Southern Cyprus, and that Syrian and Iranian support for the
separatists is increasing. The pictures do not verify the claims
of Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Burucerdi that "there were no
PKK camps in Iranian territory" and in contrast prove that
preparations for the establishment of a new PKK camp in Umuriye
near Hakkari were going on.

On the other hand, PKK representatives met early this week in
Erevan, Armenia. The meeting was organized by the Kurdish
Committee in Armenia, an extention of the PKK. In a speech at the
meeting Mahir Velat, PKK representative in the Commonwealth of
Independent States and in Eastern Europe, dwelt on the political
support extended by Armenia to the organization.

During operations initiated near the Turkey-Iran-Iraq border, 57
PKK terrorists were killed. During clashes with the security
forces in Cururca, Mus and Bitlis another 17 terrorists and three
members of the Turkish security forces were killed. /Milliyet/

In a statement to the El Mussavar magazine, an official
publication of the Egyptian government, President Suleyman
Demirel pointed out that Syrian activities create the impression
that Syria was trying to create instability in Turkey and in this
way to force Turkey into giving concessions on the water problem.
Demirel noted that to accomplish its goals "Syria was giving
support to an organization trying to divide Turkey and seen by
the Turkish people as a group of terrorists. /Milliyet/

While negotiations between Turkey and the Provide Comfort
partners on the future of the multinational force stationed in
Turkey are going on, the US is trying to convince Turkish
officials with promises for providing more information on PKK
activities. The National Security Council convenes today in
Istanbul to discuss the issue. The Turkish Grand National
Assembly will decide whether or not to extend the period of stay
of the multinational force after six days. /Cumhuriyet/

The Russian government has stopped the entry permission for TIR
truks arriving from Turkey at the borders of the Russian
Federation. This decision has been taken due to the fact that
talks on railroad transportation between Russia and Turkey have
not reached an agreement so far. The Turkish Embassy in Moscow
has initiated steps to block this implementation by the Russian
government. As a temporary solution, the Russian Ministry of
Transportation has prepared two thousand additional passage
certificates for the Turkish Embassy. /Cumhuriyet/